Presenter’s Checklist

Envelopes (to collect completed forms – one for each row of tables, area of room, etc.)

An extra 2013 Friends of Scouting poster

2013 Free Rank goals for that specific unit

Call the unit leader the night before to verify time location and position in program

Arrive at least 10 minutes before the meeting to determine the best place to present from, set up, and recruit a couple helpers.

Stay until the meeting is over.

During the presentation…

SMILE, this is a good thing you are doing and we want the families to feel good about it too.

Tell a personal story about why scouting is important to you or your family

Don’t waste time with a lot of budget facts, keep it simple, we have a few ways that we raise funds for scouting Friends of Scouting is the most important.

Never call it FOS, it is Friends of Scouting.

Keep the whole presentation and collection to 15-minutes maximum.

Always collect the cards before you sit down.

You cannot say Please or Thank You enough; Thanks for inviting me, thanks for listening, please make a pledge, please accept this small gift of thanks, thank you for you pledge, thank you for supporting scouting.

At the end of the meeting announce the total pledge from the unit and thank them again.

Do not apologize for having to ask for their pledge

Everyone realizes that a good program requires a strong financial base

Do not ask for ten or fifteen dollars, if you do then that is all you will get. Tell them the truth. The Council spends about $125 per scout to deliver the program at its current level, we appreciate every pledge we get. Do not mention any other pledge amount.

Remember to tell them that this is a voluntary program. We understand that every family has its own unique financial resources and responsibilities. We simply ask that they look at the value of scouting not only to their family, but also to their community and make a pledge that reflects that value.